Water of Hope
by Eptastic Girl
Summary: Hope, Wish, and Dream have to unite. Question is, who are they? As Rosetta learns what her father has given her, secrets of the past are revealed. And some are better left hidden. The pieces have been moved. Fate has been decided. And the battle has begun.
1. Quiet River Prologue

"Are you sure that she is the one?"

"I'd know her from anywhere."

Two figures were standing over a pool of water. The first one was very large, having a blue cape covering himself. His hands, with a very demonic look to them, touched the water slightly. The other was more normal looking. His eyes were green and he had brown hair, cut so it looked like a bowl over his head. More or less, he wore a black shirt and pants, and a green cape. He looked back down at the water.

"You know her better than any of my army. What do you know?"

"Her spirit matches to that of her father. Never gives up, and won't go down without a fight."

"She won't be easy to take down, from what we saw in the battle with Fangora."

"Also…I believe I have something more mysterious to her, and you'll be pleased to know about it." There was a pause.

"…Continue."

"As much as she may doubt her own ability, she continues to chase her dream of becoming a the first knight who is female, and nothing stops her from it. I think…that she may be one of the Orbs of Faith."

"Flower of Dreams…then who are the other two?"

"I don't know, Master. I will search farther into this."

"Thank you. You are dismissed." The second figure bowed, and took his leave. The taller of the pair had stayed behind, and watched the water again. He grinned, an evil thought coming to mind.

"Our battle has just begun. Gather your friends, and we will be ready."

* * *

_Dun dun da! Two figures are speaking of another person! Who could it be! We will find out! (At least, you will. I already know.)_

_I know, this was short, go ahead and shoot me. This is the first book to Water of Hope, for my Kirby series, 'Faith of the Stars'. The story named after this title was the intro, and I suggest reading it. (And reviewing, please!)_

_So, I got the demons who were appearing wrong. I won't release the real one, but I'll let you find out. __Anyone who figures out the two figures will get a cookie._

_Let me disclaim this, now: I won nothing of Kirby. All rights go to Nintendo. I only own My OCs, and the story line. _


	2. Quiet River: Chapter 1

_This the first chapter too the first book, Quiet River._

* * *

On a usual night in Dreamland, Rosetta would be having a pleasant dream. Blade would have made a wish on a star, before going to sleep. Sword would be watching the ocean, hoping something special would happen. And Kirby would be sleeping like a log. That was the normal routine for them.

But that wasn't happening tonight.

All four of them were by the lake. Thanks to Dedede and Escargoon arguing, they had been kept up. Kirby had gone up to Rosetta to see if she was sleeping, and found her reading a book instead, trying to drown out the yelling. They had found Blade walking around near the field, and he joined them. Finally, Sword was by the lake, just watching it. Now here they were, sitting with their backs to a tree, unable to sleep.

"Poyo. (I want to sleep, but I can't because of two idiots keeping us up.)" Kirby glared at the castle, as if that would do anything.

"Yeah? You and three others." Rosetta was beginning to grow annoyed at the two sentenced conversations they had. First, Blade and Sword. Then, her and Blade. Now it was her and Kirby. What could happen next? Or should she not ask that?

"Think they stopped?" Sword looked up. Another crash, and more yelling came from the Castle.

"Nope." Blade replied.

"…You know what? I'm done with this!" Rosetta got up, and stormed into her house. She came back with a mallet, making all of them wonder just how crazy this was going to get.

"Poyo? (Do I even want to know how you got that?)" Kirby watched her drag it.

"No. You just know what I want to use it for." Shrugging, she continued on.

"Blade, why do I get the feeling she's going to do something stupid?"

"Not stupid. Just something insane."

* * *

While that was going on outside, Dedede and Escargoon had taken their argument to the hallways of the castle. Which only made everyone even more annoyed. They seemed to be arguing about NME, where they get their demon beast.

"-she could beat it!" Escargoon yelled back to him.

"Well why didn't you figure it out?"

"I don't know everything about them!"

"Will both of you do us a favor and shut up?" That was Rosetta.

"What do you want?" Dedede snarled.

"Listen. I have a mallet. I can use floral magic. Are you sure you want to question that?" She looked annoyed and aggitated.

"Sire, I think she's serious…" Escargoon moved back.

"What can she do?" Sword and Blade knew the king just made the wrong move in saying that, because before you knew it, he was on the floor, with a bump on his head.

"Want me to do it again?" She asked, glaring at them. They got up and ran off, scared of her anger.

"That went well." Sword turned to her.

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to my house again, and heading back to sleep. You want to deal with them, fine by me." Rosetta started to walk off, Kirby following her. And for once that night, everyone could sleep peacefully.

* * *

Melman looked through his bag as he stopped by Kirby's home, and spotted what he was looking for. A package from Florastar, and letter to go with it, both for Rosetta Raven. He walked up to her mailbox, which was just under her tree house. Melman looked up, and saw one of her lights on. A sign saying she was awake.

"Rosetta! Mail call!" The window opened up from the side, and she poked her head outside, smiling down at him.

"Morning, Melman!" The window closed again, and this time she came down out of her house to meet him.

"This came in earlier for you." Melman handed her the package.

"Thanks." She waved at him as he left. Climbing back into her tree house, Rosetta opened the letter first before she even opened the package.

* * *

_Dear Rosetta,_

_Hey, Rosey! Guess what? Tulip's teaching us archery, and I hit the target right in the middle the third time I tried! Yeah, LeafClan is prepared for action! See you soon! –Ivy_

_Hiya, Rose! Florastar is just the same as always, but nothing is half as fun without you or Blade. If you see him, say hi for us! Visit us soon! Or maybe we'll visit you! –Lily_

_LeafClan's going to be the strongest Clan here they've ever seen! No one will suspect that we're going to hit them harder than before! Say hi to everyone for us, okay? See you! –Tulip_

_Oh, and we want to add this. If you see Nooki, tell that cat-tail coward we're ready for anything! Give it his best shot, and we'll give it ours! He won't stand a chance against LeafClan!_

_Your faithful sisters,  
Ivy, Lily, and Tulip_

* * *

Rosetta smiled. She was glad to know that her sisters and friends were doing okay. Looking down at the box that came with her letter, she opened it carefully. In it was the book she was given to by a friend. It was about the Faith of the Stars, and what each Orb represented.

"I have to thank them later." She put it on her book shelf, and went outside for the second time that morning. Sword and Blade were going to meet her in the field, and she didn't want to be late. Her mind wandered back to the night she had stopped Sword from falling off the rocks, and the voice she heard when she fell asleep.

"_That voice…It was so familiar…"_

"Rosetta!" She shook her head, and looked up at Sword and Blade waving at her to come over. Rosetta wasted no time in racing down to the two knights. She wanted to tell them about her dream.

"So, was Dedede silent for the night?" She asked first, before telling them.

"Okay, you nearly scarred him for life. Is that not enough proof?" Sword asked.

"Yeah, it's enough." They laughed together. The dream came back to Rosetta and she stops.

"Wait…I never told you this, because I wanted to figure it out for myself, but I think I have to tell you now." They walked to the forest, and sat under a tree together.

"So, what's on your mind?' Blade asked.

"The night we went to the beach, and I saved Sword from falling off of the rocks…I had a dream…well, no, not a dream, more like I could hear it…There was a voice. It said that I am the choosen one, the Flower of Dreams. I don't know what happened after that."

"Well, you know what we always did. Looked it up." Blade got up.

"Wait, I received a book from home. Maybe it'll help us!" Rosetta lit up. They nodded, and had a race back to her house.

"Tie!" All three yelled out together. She climbed back up, and took the book from her bookshelf.

"Now they really have my thanks."

* * *

You know how the rain is good sometimes, right? Well, this time, the rain was something all of them dreaded. They walked through Castle Dedede's secret passage ways, ones the king himself knew nothing about. Sword, Blade, Rosetta, and Kirby were the only ones who knew. They found a room to sit down in together. She opened the book up.

"Wait, before you begin…we've been keeping something from you. And I think it might help with this." Blade stopped her before she could turn the page.

"What is it, then?" She turned to them.

"The exact same night it happened, something whispered to me when I fell asleep. It said that I was choosen by the stars to become the Water of Hopes. I…I don't know what it means." Sword shrugged.

"And I had the exact same thing happen, but it said I was the Fire of Wishes. Funny thing is, I woke up before I could see who said it." Blade nodded.

"Only thing left to do, guys. We have to find out." Rosetta opened the book, and turned to a page in particular.

"The Faith of the Stars created the three Orbs of Faith. Each Orb had a faith and it's element. Water of Hopes, Fire of Wishes, and Flower of Dreams. They were created to counter Nightmare's powers. There's a prophecy, also." She pointed to the bottom of the page.

"_Water and Fire are powerful, but Flower will comeplete them._" Blade read from the text. They looked at one another.

"…That means what I think it means. It won't rain tonight. Meet me at the entrance to the forest, midnight. Make sure no one is following you." She opened the secret door again, and they crawled back to the courtyard. The rain had lightened up a bit.

"We'll walk you home." Blade took out an umbrella, and they walked towards her house in the tree.

"See you tonight." She waved at them from her window, and they nodded and waved back to her, walking backwards until Sword tripped over. Blade sighed, and shrugged playfully.

"Sword? Hello, do you read?"

* * *

Sword was snapped out of his thoughts by Blade calling him. He had been staring at the ceiling for almost twenty minutes now, not even realizing how quiet the room got, and how many times Blade had tried to get his attention.

"The least you can do is try not to tune everyone else out." He turned to the other knight, who was glaring at him.

"Excuse me for liking to stay quiet."

"So, what were you thinking about?"

"The prophecy, and what we read from the book Rosetta had. I mean, I have no doubts that we can do it, but…what does it mean? How were we given the Orbs of Faith's powers? It doesn't make any sense." Sword sighed.

"I feel the same way. Don't worry, though. Rosetta's smart, and she knows exactly where to look for certain things. If anyone can find out about this, it's her. And if she can't then no one can. At least, that I know of." Blade shrugged at the last statement.

"I hope your right, Blade. I hope you're right."

* * *

The moon's reflection shimmered off of the lake, but no one had time for admiring it. Rosetta snuck out her house. She had to get the forest entrance to meet Sword and Blade, and take them to Kabu Canyon. Being that they knew their way through, it'd be easier.

"Rosetta!"

Blade emerged from the trees. Actually, more like he fell on the ground, Sword tumbling after him. She did a face-palm, wondering why she has to put up with this.

"Alright, so I was able to…Huh?" She looked at the golden rose that sat in her hair. It was starting to shine.

"Okay…that's weird." Sword looked down at his wrist. His wristband was doing the same as Rosetta's flower. Blade's fire charm copied.

"What's going on?" Blade asked, now more worried than confused. Rosetta shrugged. Even she didn't know why this was happening.

"_It's time."_

There was that voice. The same one that spoke to her a few nights ago. Time for what, though? Did it mean that it was time for them to do something in particular? The light started to draw her energy away.

"_No! Stay awake, Rose! You have to!" _Her mind was yelling for her to stay awake. But it was no match for what the light was doing. Slowly, she fell asleep on the forest ground…

* * *

_Yup, I just went there. I just did a cliff-hanger. Anyways, I will reveal only ONE of the figures who was in the prologue of the first book, Quiet River._

_The first, the younger of the two, was Rosetta's brother, Nooki. (No-key) If you __read my profile for OCs, you'd see him._

_Until next time, later, tatters!_


	3. Quiet River: Chapter 2

_I know, I just went Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess last chapter. I don't own anything in this story, besides the plot and my OCs._

* * *

"(Rosetta? Rosetta, wake up…)"

Sword prodded Rosetta in the side. It was quite odd, how he woke up, when he knew he was awake a couple minutes ago. And he knew Rosetta and Blade were awake with him those couple minutes ago. So how did they end up in this situation?

"(Wh-what?)" Her eyes fluttered open, as she got back up to her feet. And she felt like she had four legs-wait, four legs?

"(Yeah. I think we're cats.)" Sword looked at his tail, confused. He was light gray, with dark gray spots on his back. His tail tip was dark gray as well.

"(Think? I say we are cats!)" Blade padded over. He was a light ginger, with one white paw. There was a dark ginger patch on his left ear.

"(Rosetta…look at yourself.)" Sword used his tail to indicate the lake. She walked over to it.

"(…Oh.)" Her fur was pale yellow. She had dark brown on her paws, tail, and ears. Her tail was also slightly bushier than the others.

"(I'm just going to note that Rosetta's the smallest out of all of us.)" Sword pointed to her.

"(Really?)" Bladed tilted one ear down, then walked up to her. They both stood straight. Sword was right, she was smaller.

"(Just because she the smallest doesn't mean she won't put up a fight.)" Blade commented, swipping her over the ear. She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to swipe back. She'd get him later.

"(Come on, let's get to Kabu.)" One paw in front of the other, she started to walk forward. Sword tripped over his own tail. He got back up, and followed Rosetta's lead. Blade went after them. She set the pace until they reached a log.

"(How will we get over it?)" Rosetta asked. Blade was backing up. Sword and Rosetta stepped to the side for him. He took a running start, and just before reaching the log, he jumped, landing on top of it.

"(You should try that!)" He called back down.

"(You go first. I'll catch up.)" Rosetta let Sword go before her. He got onto the top after Blade. They waited for her to come up.

She pawed the ground, and charged towards the log. Closing her eyes, Rosetta jumped up, landing so her paws just reached the top. Blade took her scruff, and pulled her, just giving her a little help. She did the rest on her own.

"(Thank the stars we can jump.)" She purred, trying to amuse them. Blade swiped her over the ear again. She batted back, growling playfully.

"(Let's go.)" Sword jumped down off the log, and towards the field they had to cross earlier in the week. Rosetta was glad to note they were starting to get the hang of being cats. And still, she tumbled over once, much to their amusement.

* * *

"(Great, now how do we get across?)"

They stopped by the field of tall grass they had to cross. None of them would be noticable enough to follow if they lost sight of one another. And, because they were smaller in their cats forms, the grass seemed taller than before. Rosetta climbed up a tree that was there, and looked over at the tree Blade inspected the other time they came with Meta Knight and Kirby.

"(I think I can make it.)" She reared back, and took a leap off of the branch. Sword and Blade were worried she wouldn't make it, but sighed in relife when she clung to the next tree branch, safe and sound.

"(That…was kind of fun.)' She giggled.

"(Let me try it!)" Blade climbed into the same tree. She moved up a bit so he could jump onto the same branch she was just on. He jumped forward, and just got his paws onto the branch. She pulled him the rest of the way up. They sat and waited for Sword to come.

"(Here I go…)" Sword jumped off like they did. Just as he got his paws to the branch, though, he slipped and nearly fell, but not before Rosetta grabbed his scruff. With assistance from Blade, they pulled him back up.

"(That was close.)" Blade panted.

"(Too close.)" Rosetta nodded.

They continued through the field by tree-hopping, making sure that Rosetta or Blade went before Sword so he didn't fall again. Once making it to the end, Rosetta climbed down the tree, showing them how she used her claws by digging them into the bark to keep herself from falling off.

"(We're almost there!)" Sword took off without them. Blade growled, and followed him. Rosetta decided to stay behind. It wasn't like she hated running as a cat, it was just that she wanted to let them win for once, as she beat them in a race most of the time. Stretching for a bit, she decided to test her own skills, being a cat. Sniffing the air, she could pick up Sword and Blade's fresh scents, plus the stale one of a person. Meta Knight, most likely.

"(Now, how well am I good at hearing?)" Rosetta pricked her ears and stayed still for a moment. In front of her, she heard Sword cheering in triumph, stating he won the race. Then Blade asked where Rosetta had disappeared to. Shaking her head, she followed their scents to find them waiting for her.

"(What happened? You would have been before us!)" Sword tilted an ear down.

"(Hey, I just wanted to let you win for once. And I wanted to test out my skills as a cat.)" She flicked her tail on his nose, and began to walk forward to Kabu. Sword and Blade shrugged, and padded after her. They stopped in front of the great statue.

"(Kabu!)" Sword yowled.

"Who has awoken me?" Kabu's voice rang around them.

"(It's us. Rosetta, Sword, and Blade.)" Blade called next. No answer.

"(I don't think he knows it's us. I mean, we're cats.)" Sword whispered.

"(Think. What would you do in a situation like this?)" Blade asked them. Rosetta got up to the pedastal again, taking Blade's words into consideration.

"(Kabu, I don't know if you even understand me, but listen. It is Sword, Blade, and Rosetta. We've been turned into cats, and we came here to find out why.)" A few seconds passed. She was afraid he didn't hear her.

"I at first did not believe it could be true. But now, I see I was wrong. The Faith of the Stars have not failed me." Kabu spoke.

"(What do you mean?)" Sword tilted his ear down.

"As you know, when Nightmare was first heard of, the Orbs of Faith were created. Hope, Wish, and Dream were born from water, fire, and flower, made to seal him. But, The Orbs could not do it alone. Three were always chosen to lock him away. The Faith of the Stars gave those three a special gift. The ability to be a cat, as a sign of faith."

"(But how did they know us?)" That was all Blade wanted to know at this point.

"When your parents died, the Faith of the Stars met with them. Nightmare would not be defeated by simply locking him away. And so, they chose their children to be the next wielders of the orbs." All of them looked at each other.

"(Then tell us what we were given, and why.)" Rosetta nodded for him to continue.

"Sword, your father chose you, because you have always been the most hopeful of your family. The gray spots on your back represent the stones in the water." Sword stood up straighter at Kabu's words.

"Blade, your father said you have wished harder than anyone he ever knew in his lifetime. Your ginger fur represents the blaze of a fire." Blade flicked his tail, and smiled.

"Rosetta, your father took you out of your siblings, and said you chased your dream longer than anyone else. Your yellow pelt represents a flower that blooms in time." Rosetta was surprised, but all the same, she was proud.

"Remember. While nightmare is powerful, the stars can counter him." Kabu fell silent. He was done talking, and left the three off onto their own devices. As they walked home for the night, one thing couldn't get out of Rosetta's mind.

_Why was she chosen?_

* * *

"I don't get why we're doing this."

"We have to find out who Rosetta is!"

"We'll, it's obvious she's a person."

"How would you know?"

Fumu, Lalala, Lololo, and Bun were watching from atop the hill for a certain girl to come along. They didn't know who Rosetta was, or even why she was here. Bun was positive she was any normal person, but Fumu wasn't so sure about her. It was the same thing with Kirby from before.

"Sword! Blade! Kirby! Get back here!"

The brother and sister duos moved out the way for the three to run pass them, and Rosetta to chase them down, laughing. Kirby was squealing as he and Rosetta tumbled down the hill together, Sword and Blade following them. They got back up, laughing.

"That was awesome!" Rosetta exclaimed, getting up and doing a cart-wheel.

Blade looked up at Bun, Bun, Lalala, and Lololo. Waving at them, he invited them to come down and play.

"Hiya! I'm Rosetta, but people call me Rose for short. You can call me that if you want." She bounced up to them. Bun turned to his sister, and gave her the 'I told you so' look.

"I'm Lalala, and that's my brother Lololo." Lalala replied.

"I'm Fumu, and this is my brother, Bun. Aren't you the one who Meta Knight mentioned before?" Tiff asked.

"Yup, that's me! I'm going to be the first female knight there ever was!" Rosetta declared.

"The first female knight? Isn't that impossible?" Fumu tilted her head.

"Impossible? Sorry, but I don't have time for thinking like that." Rosetta dismissed the word off.

"Poyo! (Nobody has time for thinking like that!)" Kirby squeaked.

"So, how do you know them?" Fumu was asking about how Rosetta knew Sword, Blade, and Kirby.

"Well, Blade and I knew each other from our home planet. Sword and Kirby, I met them about a week ago, so that's how I know them." She was rocking back and forth on her feet, now.

"How about we let you guys talk for a bit?" Sword suggested, noticing Fumu's tention towards Rosetta. Blade nodded, getting his point.

"That's fine. I'll see you later!" Rosetta waved at them as they walked off with Kirby. Turning back to them, she picked up their conversation.

"So, you're not from Popstar?" Bun asked.

"No, I'm from Florastar. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around here, yet, if you live here." Rosetta tilted her head.

"Well, we haven't come out lately. Besides, we should have seen you around." Lalala replied.

"True, I'm always running around with them." She nodded.

"Always?" Lololo repeated.

"As in, if I'm around, their usually not to far behind, and vice-versa. It's like my two twin sisters, Lily and Tulip. One is almost never seen without the other." She shrugged.

"You never did mention your siblings. Are they the only two?" Bun asked.

"Nope. Ivy is the second oldest, and Nooki is the youngest. Inbetween them comes Lily and Tulip, the twins." They just stared at her in awe. She had four siblings, and including her, was the oldest of five.

"That must be hard, taking care of four younger siblings." Fumu said.

"Oh, I'm just the one who settles arguments if they can't figure it out themselves. It's nothing much." Rosetta shrugged. Fumu decided something. If Kirby, Sword, and Blade trusted her, then Rosetta was okay to be around.

* * *

_Okay, this ends chapter two of Quiet River. If something seemed confusing (Plot, characters, ect.) then please PM me, or review, and I'll put it in the A/N's next chapter._

_Review! Flames are used to fuel my writing._


	4. Quiet River: Chapter 3

_The third chapter of Quiet River! _

* * *

Rosetta walked down to the tree by the lake early the next morning, expecting to see Sword and Blade there. They asked to meet her, as usual, but for something more. They were about to decide whether or not they should tell Meta Knight and Kirby about their secret.

"Well, what do you think? Who should we tell first?" She asked, climbing into the branches and sitting down with them.

"Meta Knight should be among the first to know. He's our mentor, and not telling him would be like betraying him." Blade mentioned.

"Kirby's the closest to us. He should know as well." Sword agreed. Suddenly, something came to mind.

"But, is now really the right time to tell them? We're still trying to figure it out ourselves." Rosetta pointed out.

"That's true. When is the right time, though?" Sword asked.

"The right time is just that. When we feel we should tell them. And we'll know when that time comes."

* * *

Meta Knight watched Rosetta, Sword, and Blade from atop the hill. Something was up, meeting together without Kirby on their tails. Rosetta looked up, and they locked eyes. She had the look that said she wanted to say something. Only Sword calling her name broke off their connection.

"_You're up to something, and I want to know what." _He thought about going down and asking her what they were keeping from him, but he thought better of it. Rosetta was often quiet about those things.

Kirby was running by him, going to play with the group as usual. They ran into the forest, and disappeared from sight.

* * *

He walked back to the castle, a couple of things on his mind. The one thing he could never understand about them was their connection. It's like they were bound by something no one else could see. Similar to how he remembered his own friends from the war.

Meta Knight looked from the window at the field. Tiff, Tuff, Falala and Fololo were there, making their way down to the field.

"If anything, the girl's their leader." He turned to the doorway. Escargoon and Dedede were passing by, talking about something.

"She's still annoying."

"And, what's her connection to Meta Knight? It's not like she's actually his apprentice, is it?"

"Actually, she is." They jumped, yelling, and turned to Meta Knight. He was standing there in front of them.

"You actually expect her to be a knight?" Dedede snickered.

"You Majesty, with all due respect, I believe she has the potential to be a knight." Meta Knight was being serious.

"If you say so. Fine then, but she might as well not cause trouble." Escargoon warned. He and the King walked off.

"_Cause trouble? That's her specialty." _Meta Knight thought quietly to himself, smirking a bit under his mask at his own joke. He wouldn't be surprised if the three played a trick on him later on.

* * *

Rosetta climbed up a tree, sitting next to Kirby. They were explaining to her Dedede's motives. She was listening, and every word filled her with excitement at the thought of a new adventure.

"-and that's basically it." Sword finished. She nodded, unable to really comment on all of it.

"That's a lot." Blade commented for her.

"Yeah. So, what do we do now?" She started hanging upside down on her branch.

"I don't know." Sword shrugged.

"Poyo! (Let's go see if Meta Knight needs us!)" Kirby squeaked.

"I don't see why not." Rosetta jumped down, and began to walk.

"Hey, wait for us!" Blade called after her. She sighed, but stopped and waited for them to catch up.

"So, what demon will we have to face?" She asked, bouncing alongside them.

"Poyo! (Maybe it'll be a frog!)" Kirby suggested. Rosetta gave him the 'what did you just say' look.

"…Dare I ask?"

"Nope." Sword gave her the answer as soon as she asked the question.

"Oh well. Where is Sir Meta Knight, anyways?" She asked.

"I think he's at the castle. We woke up so early, we didn't see him leave." Blade explained.

"I'm right here."

Rosetta jumped and turned around. Meta Knight was right above, sitting on a tree branch. His eyes turned pink at the reaction, enjoying her startled look.

"Ha, ha, very funny." She narrowed her eyes as he chuckled.

"You'll get used to that." Sword shoved her playfully. She still had an annoyed look, but he saw a smile play on the corner of her lips.

"Now, you were looking for me?" He jumped down next to them.

"We were just wondering if you needed us." Blade replied.

"Not at the moment. Except maybe later. For now, you can do what you like." He replied. They nodded, and started to head down to the beach. When they were out of earshot, he pulled Rosetta aside.

"Rosetta, are you…hiding something?" He felt bad about questioning her innocence, but he had to know what happened from earlier that morning.

"Hiding? No, Sir Meta Knight. We'd never hide anything that had to do with you." She shook her head, guilty she had to lie to him.

"_Please say he doesn't mention anything about this morning…" _Her mind pleaded.

"Oh? Then what happened this morning between you, Sword, and Blade?"

"_Darn it." _She hissed inwardly.

"That was nothing. We just decided to meet earlier today before anyone else could wake up." That was a half-truth.

"…If you're sure. Just remember, if it's something you must tell me, then don't hesitate to do so." He turned around, and left her.

"_I hope he didn't know I was lying." _She sighed, and began to walk off on her own, to the beach where everyone else was.

* * *

"Where were you?"

"Oh, Sir Meta Knight stopped me to ask something."

That was Sword and Rosetta. Blade and Kirby were looking for seashells. She looked back up at the rocks Sword nearly fell from a few nights before. That's when she realized she could see shortly into the future.

"Poyo? (Rose! Come on, quit spacing out!)"

Kirby tugged at her dress, snapping her out of her thoughts. She shook her head to shake away anything else that was stopping her from talking, or even paying attention, to them.

"Sorry. Thought came to mind."

Blade snuck a quick glance at her. The glance that said he knew whatever was on her mind was not just any old thought. She blinked in reply, saying she'd tell him and Sword later.

She scanned the beach for something to do, and then found a stick, conveniently out in front of her. She picked it up and started to draw something in the sand. Before she knew it, she was just drawing, letting a memory rush back to her to inspire her artwork.

She looked down at her master piece. It was a butterfly on a flower, with a wind blowing. She smiled down at her drawing. Everyone else looked at it, wondering why of all things she could make, she made a butterfly and a flower.

"Don't ask me why." She shrugged before anyone could ask.

"Poyo! (Can you teach me to draw like that?)" Kirby squeaked, bouncing around her.

"Um…well…maybe sometime later?" She did a sweat-drop. He nodded, and bounced off, squealing about getting art lessons.

"Okay…" Sword turned back to her.

"Alright, I know Sir Meta Knight stopped you for more than just asking you a question. What happened?" Blade asked.

"He asked about this morning, and our conversation." She lowered her voice so no one else could hear them.

"Did you tell him?"

"No, in fact, I lied to him." Guilt came over her. She lied to Meta Knight. Her mentor.

"You…lied?" Blade tilted his head.

"Not exactly. It was more like a half-truth."

"In a way, it's still counted as lying. It's the best any of us can do." Sword shook his head.

"Aside from that, we'll meet tonight in the Courtyard. And make sure no one follows you." She said.

"But…what if Sir Meta Knight questions us?" Blade asked, worried about what they should say.

"Escape it by saying what I said. We only met just because we wanted to be up earlier. If he knows we're on the same story, he'll believe us."

"If you're sure…" Sword sighed. She kicked the ground, still kind of guilty.

"So…we'll see you tonight?" Blade concluded.

"Yeah…" The conversation was over quickly.

"Well, goodnight!" She smiled, a bit too bright. They nodded, and parted ways. Blade sighed as they walked.

"_That was awkward. Too awkward."_

* * *

The sunset dyed Dreamland vibrant shades of red, orange, and yellow, creating a canvas with the sunset painted on it, and just splatter your thoughts onto. That's just what Sword was doing.

A blot of red here.

"_Why does this have to be so hard on us? I feel bad about having to lie to Sir Meta Knight, but I still know it has to be done."_

An arch of orange there.

"_I'm always able to push things to the back of my mind. So why can't I do that, now?"_

A splash of yellow.

"_We'll figure something out, won't we? I wish I wasn't just asking myself, and be able to ask someone else…"_

Finally, the sun hit the water, turning it deep orange. He smiled. Sunset represented something more to him than just the end of the day. Some say it meant the sun was saying goodbye. But he thought of it more like a farewell. The sun would never leave them.

* * *

The castle hallways were dark, and you wouldn't see anything, had it not been for the touches lit. Actually, two people were using the dim light to their advantage.

"I hear someone."

"Hide!"

The two voices, Sword and Blade, hid in the small alcove near them. A patrolling Waddle Dee walked past their hiding spot with no notice of them. Once it was gone, they continued to sneak around. neither one of them dared to make a sound.

"What took you so long?" A third voice was there when they reached the Courtyard. Rosetta

"Well, we wanted to be sure everyone was quiet and asleep." Sword replied.

"Fine. Follow me, then." She started to walk away. They walked after her, and trecked down to the lake, the usual meeting place. Rosetta turned to them.

"We're going to have to figure out how we can turn into cats, and turn back to normal." She started.

"And how do we do that?" Sword asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged, frowning.

"Well, what if we thought really hard on it?" Blade suggested.

"It's worth a shot…" Sword sat down, and they stayed silent for about five minutes, keeping the image of cats in their minds. Nothing.

Rosetta took her flower out, fingering its golden petals. Blade tossed the fire charm he always kept with him in the air, and Sword flicked his wrist band on his wrist, occasionally saying 'ow' if he did it to hard.

"Oh, what a predicament." She sighed, and spun around for no reason. She put her hands together, and closed her eyes, as if wishing for something to happen.

Suddenly, she felt a light overtake her, and a few seconds later, Sword and Blade were taller than she remembered…

"(Hey! It worked, I'm a cat again!)" She chased her tail.

"How'd you do that?" Sword asked.

"(I just put my hands together. Closed my eyes, and then I was a cat.)" They looked at each other, and tried to the same thing she did.

Soon, she was looking at a ginger tom and a gray tom. She squealed and pawed the air, happy they figured it out.

"(Now, what do we do?)" Sword asked.

"(We can practice battling in the forest.)" Blade suggested.

"(But…aren't there animals who live there, and don't they attack you?)" Rosetta asked. Sword shook his head.

"(Well, the foxes that we've seen are nice. The wolves, not so much. Don't worry, though. Not all the animals are like the wolves. Come on, we'll show you what we mean.)"

* * *

A white fox was sniffing around in the undergrowth, looking for anything special to bring home. She was picking at some berries currently, gathering them by the bushel.

"(Ice!)"

She looked up, and tilted her head. Three cats, two toms and a she-cat, were walking down to them. How did they know her?

"(That'd be me. Who are you, and how do you know me?)"

"(Ice, it's us! Sword and Blade!)" The ginger one spoke up.

"(Oh! I never realized. But who's your friend? Her scent is unfamiliar…)" Ice sniffed at Rosetta.

"(I'm Rosetta, but most call me Rose. I'm from Florastar. We came to practice battling as cats.)" She explained, coming forward.

"(Well, come on. We can help you.)" Ice led them through a log, and into a whole other area. There were dens, and lots of foxes were there.

"(Ice? Who are they?)" A brown one padded forward. She had a darker patch of brown on her shoulders.

"(Heather, this is Sword, Blade, and their friend, Rosetta. They came to learn some battle skills.)" Ice replied.

"(May I help, then?)" She asked.

"(Sure! The more, the better! Can you also go get Thunder?)" Heather nodded, and walked off, while Ice led them through camp. Sword stretched a bit.

"(Now, to get started we'll be working on some defensive moves…)"

* * *

_Yup, because you all deserve a cliff-hanger. _

_If any of you can guess when the trio will tell Meta Knight and Kirby, I'll give you something cool. Remember, we have 2 chapters of this book left until the next book!_


	5. Quiet River: Chapter 4

Rosetta sat quietly as Ice paired Sword, Blade, Thunder, and Heather up. She was the only one left. So who would she get?

"(Oh…well, I guess I'll be your partner, Rosetta.)" Ice smiled down at the smaller she-cat. She nodded to Heather, who was about to begin.

"(We'll start off with a battle crouch. Thunder, mind demonstrating for me?)" Heather turned to the gray fox.

"(Not at all.)" Thunder crouched low to the ground, now at Sword's level.

"(You have to keep yourself low enough just so your stomach brushes the ground.)" Heather tapped her paw on Blade's back, helping him get down lower. Thunder nudged Sword's flank, moving it in a bit. Ice placed a paw on Rosetta's head, so she would lower it.

"(Next, you have to be able to move around. Ice?)" Heather turned to her leader.

"(To do this, you have to move your front legs, then your back legs.)" Ice made a circled around them.

Sword went first. He was quiet enough to catch Rosetta off guard. She squeaked as he pawed her tail. Blade snicked at them as he snuck over. She got down, and crept away, with them following.

"(Hmm…see that leaf over there? See if you can all pounce over to it.)" Heather turned to a leaf on the ground, fairly far from them. The three got down, and as one, leaped forward. They had all pounced on it, without bumping heads.

"(Excellent, you three!)" Ice called, her two clanmates following her as they stopped in front of them.

"(Let's practice a couple of fighting moves, now. Give us your best shot.)" Thunder resumed his battle crouch, the others following. The trio of felines copied, and the training battle began.

Heather was surprised when Blade jumped onto her back, being he was a lot smaller than the fox. She fell over, as he made mulitple attacks to her face and underbelly. She got back up and was about to swipe at him, when he ran around a kicked up a dust cloud. From there, he made another set of attacks in the dust.

Sword was good at sneak attacks. Thunder couldn't hear him coming from behind, and was always surprised when he jumped in for an attack. He turned around and pinned him down, but Sword kicked him, and ran out from under him while he recovered.

Ice noticed Rosetta used her small size to her advantage, running under her opponent and tripping them with her tail, and she thought fast when she had to use a last resort. As Ice tried to pin her down, she dashed out from under her and jumped. Twisting herself in midair, she slammed her fore-paws onto Ice's back, and disabled her. From there, she pawed her face multiple times.

"(Whoa. I didn't see that one coming.)" Ice got back up after a while.

"(Sorry…)" Rosetta kneaded the ground. She still had a smile, happy she was able to do what she did.

"(Hey, it's fine. Besides, I want to see the look on a demon's face when your claws come out!)" Ice growled, pawing the air.

"(Yeah! They won't see us coming!)" Sword tried to pounce on Blade, but the ginger tom stepped to the side, letting him fall.

"(You're no fun.)" Sword grumbled, getting back up.

"(Oh, we have to get home. Everyone will wonder where we are in the morning.)" Rosetta looked up.

"(Will you come back soon?)" Thunder asked.

"(You bet we will!)" Blade smiled. Ice pointed to a small road behind them.

"(If you go through there, you'll get home faster. We'll see you next time!)" She called after them.

"(See you!)" Sword called back, and they walked home together, leaving the training ground.

* * *

Meta Knight watched the sun rise. Sword and Blade were sleeping peacefully, but he knew something just wasn't right. Had something happen that they didn't want anyone to find about about?

He heard rustling from his two apprentices. One of them was waking up. And knowing from experience, it was probably Blade. He chuckled quietly. Sword, Blade, and Kirby were like brothers, Rosetta being the only sister.

Sword walked out of their room, glaring at Blade for some reason.

"Just so you know, it wasn't my fault." Blade shook his head.

"Yeah right." Sword grumbled.

Meta Knight sighed. It was their usual antics everyday, but that's what made those two friends.

* * *

Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight were walking down the castle halls, looking for Rosetta. She had disappeared earlier in the day, and not turned up since.

"She does this often. She'll disappear randomly-"

"HI!" Rosetta came out of no where in front of them, Kirby following her.

"-and then appear when you least expect it. Hello, Rosetta and Kirby." Blade finished his sentence, then turned to her. She giggled.

"So, what are you doing?"

"Well, we were looking for you, then you came out of no where." Sword replied.

"Where were you, anyways?" Blade crossed his arms.

"No where in particular." She shrugged, smiling.

"Right…" Blade rolled his eyes at her, not really believing her story.

"What, you think I'm lying? Blade, I'd never do such a thing!" She faked an act of offense.

"_But you know you can lie to your own mentor. And you did." _She sighed inwardly at this. It was a half-truth, but in her mind, it was a lie all the same. She felt bad about it, but their secret had to be kept. No matter how much she tried, the memory wouldn't stop resurfacing. She prayed to the stars that she wouldn't let one little thing slip out.

"Anyways, what's our first priority today?" Sword asked.

"Well, the first was finding Rose and Kirby, which we've done. The second thing-"

"Meta Knight!"

Blade was cut short by a yell, coming from the throne room. Meta Knight signaled for his four apprentices to follow him. Rosetta, being the new one, stood behind them and followed along, a bit awkward, but she eventually she walked like them, proud and tall. They created a semi circle behind him as they faced Dedede and Escargoon. Escargoon counted them, and stopped when he got to Rosetta.

"I don't remember you being one of them." He frowned. She bit back an insult, staying quiet.

"Your majesty, this is the girl who asked to join us." Meta Knight spoke up. Dedede actually seemed surprised. He thought Meta Knight was lying when he said he recruited a girl, especially Rosetta.

"…So I see. What's your name?" Dedede loomed over her.

"Rosetta."

"And just why are you one of his apprentices?"

"I want to be the first female knight ever known."

Dedede could have swore he heard some boasting in her voice, though other than that, it was as emotionless as Meta Knight could be at times. Sword and Blade gave her a quick glance. She understood what they were saying; say nothing more. Meta Knight, to her relief, stepped in.

"Your Majesty, is there a reason to believe she is not loyal? As far as I'm concerned, she wouldn't betray another." Dedede hid a smirk.

"Fine. She can try, but we all know that her dream won't come true."

Sword, Blade, and Kirby all frowned inwardly at this. They looked in her direction. She held her head up high, assuring them her pride was undaunted. He could say what he wanted; she'd prove them wrong, all of them. Meta Knight gestured the four follow him out, in the same order they did before. As they got outside, she finally spoke, her confident air still around her.

"I've heard that about how many times, now, and each time, I say the same thing; just you watch me."

* * *

Fumu was sitting under the same tree she always did in the field, watching her friends play soccer. Kirby was sort of sitting to the side, cheering them on. After a few minutes, Fumu heard a cat yelp in surprise. She put her book down and ran to the source.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"We nearly hit a cat with our ball." Bun pointed to a ginger cat, most likely a tom. He had been resting on a rock when he was disturbed by the soccer ball nearly hitting him.

"Hey, we're sorry about that. We didn't mean it." One of the kids apologized to the cat. The ginger tom thought about it for a moment, and then meowed, nodding. He forgave them. He purred as the kid reached out to pet him.

"I've never seen a cat like this before. Most cats that I've seen or read about have markings, but he's purely ginger." Fumu pet him on the head. The tom seemed to tilt his head, and meowed in confusion.

"Well, we'll let you get back to whatever you wanted to do. See you later!" The kids ran off, waving at the cat. As for the tom, he jumped down from the rock he was on, and ran off on his own.

* * *

"(So you say they referred to you as a pure ginger?)"

"(That's what I said.)"

Blade was sitting with Sword and Rosetta by the lake. They were discussing Blade's encounter with the kids in the field, where they didn't even take note on his white paw or dark ginger ear.

"(If we can see each other this way, then why can't anyone else?)" Rosetta asked, frowning. She had climbed up the tree there, and was looking at the view she had.

"(Did you read anything in your book?)" Blade asked, looking up at her.

"(Actually…I did.)" She looked back down at them.

"(What did it say?)"

"(It said that if one doesn't know who the Orbs of Faith are, or doesn't believe it, they will see their cat form, but only their base color. Their markings won't appear to them unless they know or they believe it.)" She quoted what she read from the book, exactly how she saw it.

"(You know, you have to wonder. If our parents were the previous Three, wouldn't we look like them?)" Sword mentioned.

"(…I guess we would.)" Blade turned to him, nodding in agreement.

Rosetta jumped out of the tree, and stretched her legs out from sitting down for so long. After doing so, she turned around to walk off for a bit, when she felt something, almost like static, go down her back. She turned back around; she knew the feeling well.

"(Blade, meet me tonight under the tree; I have something to tell you.)" She murmured to him quickly. He tilted his head, curious. She flicked her tail, pointing at Sword; his back was to them.

Blade watched her go off somewhere else on her own. He looked back at Sword. What did she know, or find out, about him that she needed to tell him urgently?

* * *

Rosetta waited by the tree near the lake. It was around midnight. She heard Blade coming down to her, and turned around. He climbed up and sat on a branch. She did the same on the opposite side.

"What's going on, now?" Blade asked.

"…We're not the only two who come from Florastar." She replied after a few minutes of silence.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Sword's been hiding it from us. I'm surprised I wasn't able to tell before."

"But…we asked him…"

"He lied about it. I don't know why he'd been ashamed because he can, but I can tell, somewhere in him, he can do some of the things we can do."

"Looks like there are more secrets than the one we're keeping that we've been keeping. And from the looks of it, he doesn't want us knowing." She shook her head, but then they heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Over there! Someone overheard us!" Blade pointed to a figure running. Rosetta gave chase.

"Hey! Come back!" She called, chasing the figure all the way towards another part of the forest. Blade cut in the figures path, making them hesitate and allowing Rosetta to tackle them down. She sent the two of them rolling down the hill. Finally they stopped, and she got ready to let them up, but the figure's identity was what surprised her enough to stop.

"_Sword!?_"

* * *

_I cliffhang you all again because you know what? I'm in the mood to be an evil little girl to you! _

…_Nah, I'm joking XD But, Rosetta seemed pretty surprised this time. But, since I'm to lazy to write anything else, I'll end this off here. Next time, we'll find out why Sword was out in the first place. See you then!_


End file.
